Tent Is a Real Find for Parents, Lost Children : County fair: At least 120 kids have been reported missing since Aug. 19. All have been reunited with families.

Alicia Schnessler was sobbing so hard she could barely catch her breath. She was yelling at her husband because he had just lost their 2-year-old son near the food booths at the Ventura County Fair.

Fifteen minutes later, Schnessler was reunited with her son, Michael, and this time she was crying tears of relief.

About a dozen times a day, a child slips from view of protective parents and disappears into the throngs at the fairgrounds, officials said. Panicky moms and dads begin a mad search, calling and dashing about in a desperate effort to relocate their loved one.

As of Thursday afternoon about 120 children had been reported missing at the fair, since it opened Aug. 19, and later were found, said Cecelia Geertsen, a volunteer who works at the Salvation Army lost-and-found tent.

“It’s real easy for a child to get lost,” Geertsen said. “All it takes is one person standing in between the parent and the child.”

Schnessler said her husband had taken their two young sons to buy soft drinks while she waited at a picnic table nearby.

David Schnessler had assumed his youngest son was following him, but when they reached the table--only 10 feet away--the toddler had disappeared. “David only turned away for a second,” his wife said.

The Schnesslers notified fair security officers immediately, and Michael was discovered playing with toys near the food booths after his mother raced around screaming his name.

“Nine times out of 10, they’ll be found in the same area,” said Geertsen, who has worked at the lost-and-found tent for six years. “I’ve never had to take one home yet.”

Frank Ferratta, program manager of Children’s Protective Services, said that a child has never been abandoned at the fair. Police say no child has ever been abducted, either.

“A few years ago, a 14-month-old baby was found in a stroller,” Geertsen said. “When they found the parents, they were drunk.”

Most parents are reunited with their lost children within 30 minutes, which is the average stay at the tent for a child, Geertsen said.

The lost-and-found tent keeps coloring books, stuffed animals, a television and videocassette recorder on hand to keep children entertained until they are picked up. The large, red-and-white striped tent is located to the left of the main entrance and is always staffed with a volunteer during fair hours.

“This has been a really slow year,” Geertsen said. She attributed that to the different layout in the midway, where most children are lost. “It’s set up better because it’s more open.”

Identification bracelets and leashes are good ideas for small children, said Ventura Police Cpl. Bryan Roberts. Police and fair security keep a lookout for lost children based on physical descriptions. If located, they hand them over to volunteers at the lost-and-found tent, he said.

Sometimes adults also become temporary guests at the tent, Geertsen said.

Last week, a police officer brought in a woman in her early 80s who was disoriented, Geertsen said. “She didn’t know her name; all she knew was that she had moved here from some place.”

A few minutes later, her son picked her up, Geertsen said. “You could see that he was really panicked,” she said.

Donna Crews, 47, of Ojai, had a few bad moments when she realized that she had lost sight of a toddler that she was watching for her neighbor.

When she appeared at the lost-and-found tent, Crews was pale and anxious. “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. I just lost a little 3-year-old boy,” she reported.

Crews had volunteered to take six children to the fair for her neighbor, and she lost the youngest boy, Gonzalito Hernandez, while they were buying tickets.

The toddler had wandered off and his siblings found him while Crews was notifying fair security.

Geertsen, who has four children and five grandchildren, has a simple solution for keeping tabs on children at the crowded fairgrounds. “I’m a strong believer in leashes.”